Multiverse
by Kristen Bays
Summary: Driving late one night, Lois hits a boy who appeared in a Kansas cornfield, but this teen is more than what he seems. Is his hatred of Clark because he's an escaped Phantom Zone convict, or something even more sinister? Spoilers for Smallville Season 6
1. Chapter 1

-1Authors Note: It's been a while sine I've written fan fiction, so bare with me. This story is set in the Smallville universe, taking place in Season 6, after the episode "Static". In other words: Lana is engaged to Lex and preggers with his baby, Lois is dating Oliver Queen, who is over his Venom addiction, and Clark has run across, but not actually met, a certain Oreo-loving, green skinned alien who is very important should anyone want to form a Justice League.

This story is not beta-ed. While I do have a strong mastery of the English language and have proof read it a few times, sometimes you just miss stuff when you were the one to write it. Feedback is welcomed and loved.

Multiverse

1: Lois

"Driving nearly everyday between Smallville and Metropolis is getting to be a real pain." Lois sighed and turned off the radio. Her decent rock station was melding into country the closer she got to the hickville she had come to call home. Two years. Two years of backwater and so much small town charm one could puke. True, living in the Meteor Capital of the Nation had it's perks: for as much as she complained, things were rarely dull in dullsville. She'd always loved poking her nose into a good mystery, and between all the 'meteor freaks' (as Chloe called them), objects falling at random from the sky, and town billionaires, there were certainly enough mysteries to keep a gossip busy.

Though she'd never admit it to anyone, and certainly not Mr. Smallville himself, Clark Kent, she'd grown to love the place. It had it's charm.

Once you got past the obsession with the FFA and Tractor Supply Co.

However, it was tedious driving between her home above the Talon and her moonlighting position at the Inquisitor. And that wasn't even mentioning dates with Oliver, which meant the ride home would be at 11:00 at night or later. It felt like the 3 hour stretch got longer every time she drove it. Look, there's the burned out Dairy Queen. And up next is that bit of fence someone needs to fix. And look! More corn! Yippy!

This particular evening was no different. Lois felt slagged. She was up early to help Mrs. Kent with writing a speech, then she pulled some barista duty in the Talon, then it was off to the city to turn in her latest piece on how oil prices were being controlled by the Illuminati. The only consolation was that Oliver had to cut their date short for a business meeting. "Great," Lois said out loud to herself, "I just thought of a canceled date as a consolation prize. I really need a break… or a massage… or maybe a smoke…"

No. No smoking. She'd promised Chloe no smoking. She sat for a moment, the road lulling her into a sort of haze. Deciding music was in order, Lois flipped the sun visor in front of her down and began to pick a CD. As she pulled out her selection and pushed the visor back in place, a shape darted into her headlight beams.

Slamming on the breaks, Lois swerved the car, but she wasn't fast enough. She bit back a scream as the deer or whatever clipped the front fender of her car an it the side before disappearing from sight. "Shit… Shit… Shit…" This day was just getting better and better. She pulled the car over into the shoulder and bolted out of the car to see if the whatever was alright. The shape was faintly illuminated in the combo of her break lights and the waxing moon above. Popping the trunk, Lois hastily dug for her emergency flashlight. The beam of light cut through the darkness, highlighting a tan bit of flesh, a red streak of blood and a torn black tee-shirt.

"No…" Terror gripped Lois' insides. She ran to the figure. A boy. Couldn't be more than 17. His face was bruised and battered, arms bleeding. "Oh God.." She leaned in, feeling for a pulse and breath sounds, "Oh, please don't be dead, Kid…"

Then he coughed. A little blood spattered on her cheek and neck, and Lois would have never though she'd ever be that glad to be coughed on. He moaned in pain. "It's OK, Kid…" she said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice, "I'm gonna call an ambulance and you'll be OK…"

Her hands were shaking so bad she could barely dial 9-1-1. It was like the kid had appeared out of thin air. He must have darted out of the corn. Why would anyone dart out of the corn? She reported quickly to the dispatch that an ambulance was needed on Hwy 73 about 10 miles out of Smallville, that she'd found a boy laying bleeding on the side of the road. The kid was breathing and moving slightly, but looked to be in bad shape. Sure it wasn't the whole truth, but her insurance premiums or criminal record couldn't handle the stress of near vehicular manslaughter.

It felt like forever before the ambulance arrived. Lois stayed with the kid. She knew that basic first aid said you shouldn't move a body, but they were in the middle of a highway at night. She put an arm under the kid and started to lift. Jeez… someone got their Wheaties. He weighed a lot more than he looked.

She waved down the ambulance when it arrived. The EMT's briefly questioned her as they loaded the boy on a stretcher. An officer from the Sheriff's office questioned her too, but she was more or less on auto pilot. "I was driving along and something darted out in front of me. I thought it was a deer or a cow or something. I tried to stop and swerve but it clipped me and I pulled over to see what it was and…" Reality was sinking in. "Oh god, I swear I didn't mean… I didn't…" Her breaths were coming in quick gasps, like she couldn't properly fill her lungs. The cop said something to her but she didn't hear. "I didn't.. I didn't…"

The world tunneled black around her. She didn't feel her head hit the pavement.

Lois awoke to the all to familiar sounds of Smallville Medical Center. Her head was ringing, "Ow…"

"Lois! Oh thank God…" Martha Kent swooped in like the mother hen she was. "The Sheriff called and said you were in some kind of accident, you bumped your head pretty hard when you passed out."

Lois blinked some of the still lingering stars out of her eyes and slowly sat up, rubbing the bandage she could feel on the back of her head, "Yeah.. I can tell…" The events of the evening came slowly swimming back. Work, Date with Ollie, Driving, Boredom, then.. "The boy! Is he alright?"

Lois swung her legs off the stretcher and stood, which was a mistake as her vision suddenly swam in front of her. Martha put a steadying hand on her shoulder, "He's fine. He had some cuts and bruises but was otherwise unhurt. The Sheriff wants to ask you some questions once you feel up to it."

"I didn't mean to hit him, Mrs. Kent!" As Lois' balance returned she started down the hall, peeking in the doors to find the boy's room.

Martha trotted along to catch up, "I know, Lois. I think the Sheriff knows too, it's just normal procedure. Here…" she put a comforting arm on Lois shoulder, "He's this way." Martha led her to a room that Lois was relieved was not the ICU. Lois pushed open the door and walked in to find the town's new Sheriff, a man named Parker, standing alongside a uniformed officer who was taking pictures of the still unconscious boy's face and Dr Currie of the medical center staff.

The doctor turned to face the intruders, ready to tell them off, "Oh… Miss Lane. Are you alright? You probably shouldn't be up yet…" he moved over, pulling a pen light from his coat pocket and flashing it in her eyes.

Annoyed, Lois batted away the light, "I'm fine. What I want to know is if he's ok." she said, gesturing to the boy.

The sheriff frowned some, and the doctor responded, "He is still unconscious, but he should recover…" there was something else in the Currie's tone that Lois could detect, but not decipher.

"Miss Lane," Sheriff Parker started, "Did you see anyone else on the road? Another person on foot?"

Lois made a quizzical face, "No… just him. Why?"

"Well, because his injuries aren't congruent with what we see when someone is hit by a car." The doctor said, frankly. "No broken bones, no major lacerations. Most of the injuries are to his face and torso, not his arms and legs. There's no road burn, either."

"His bruises look more like they came from punches than from a car." the uniformed officer remarked as he put away his camera.

The doctor nodded in agreement, "I can't tell you even buzzed him, let alone clipped him. Maybe you just hit a pothole in the road and thought you clipped him?"

Lois blinked. How was that possible? How did someone get hit by a car at 65 miles per hour and not have serious trauma? She turned to look at Mrs. Kent, who had picked up the boy's bloodied tee-shirt from where it had been sat on the bedside table. As Martha ran her fingers across the printed logo across the front of the shirt, Lois looked back to the Sheriff and Doctor, "Yeah… I guess so… I mean… it all happened so fast that I thought…"

The Sheriff nodded and said something that boiled down to 'we'll investigate this so don't skip town.' Lois just nodded. The doctor said something else about stepping out into the hall. "Actually," Lois asked, "Can I stay in here a few minutes? I need to… I don't know…" She made a slight frustrated noise, as she didn't even know why she wanted to stay. She knew she hit the boy… she had to have…

The doctor seemed to understand, "We'll give you a few minutes. If he wakes up, call us." Lois nodded and stepped up to the boy's bedside as the doctor, sheriff, and officer left the room.

Mrs. Kent was absorbed in the boy's tee-shirt. Lois blinked and looked down at the kid, tilting her head slightly. He did look like he'd been beaten up, but oddly enough, he didn't look as bad as he had looked on the road. "You know… He looks kind of like Clark… The chin is a little different, thought."

Martha nodded, finaly pulling her eyes away from the shirt. She placed it back on the side table, "Common, Lois… You can stay at the house tonight. You shouldn't be alone unless you have a concussion." Lois nodded, but she did notice as they left that Martha looked a little more upset than Lois would have expected. 'Wonder why…' she thought as they headed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Uhm… don't have much to say here. Clark is cute. Also, if the words Teen of Teak mean anything to you, you might want to get a paper bag or something to muffle the fan girl squee. I've been told this chapter causes hyperventilation.

Multiverse

2: Clark

Clark was with Chloe in the basement of the Daily Planet building going over satellite images from Dark Tuesday when he got the call from his mother that Lois was in the hospital following an accident in her car. His first instinct was to run at top speed back to Smallville, but his mom insisted it was nothing serious, just a bump on the head, and that she was on her way to the medical center from the house. If Clark and Chloe wanted to come, they could take their time.

"Which means," Chloe said, grabbing her car keys, "That we drive very fast instead of taking the Clark-Kent-Sub-Mach-2 Express."

On the way Clark tried to call Oliver Queen. The billionaire did not answer his cell, and Clark had a sneaking suspicion that Ollie was busting heads as the Green Arrow at the moment. Clark and Chloe spent the rest of the drive discussing The Zoners - their nickname for the escaped prisoners of the Phantom Zone. A debate over whether a crater in Afghanistan was a Zoner impart or a scar from the War on Terror lasted them all the way to Smallville Medical Center.

As they pulled up to the Center, Chloe spotted Lois and Martha coming out of the entrance. She quickly parked and together, Clark and Chloe met up with their respective family members.

"I'm fine! Just a bump to the noggin'." Lois said as soon as she saw the look on Chloe's face. "And it wasn't even from the accident. I've had worse…" she paused some and smirked in that annoying way she always smirked, "I've had worse this month, even."

"What happened?" Chloe, ever the reporter, asked.

"Something darted in front of me and I thought I'd hit it…" Clark could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth there. Her voice always took on a slightly whiney tone (Well, more whiney than normal) when she was stretching the truth. "I pulled off into the bar ditch and went to see what it was…"

Lois' tone shift again, "It was a boy… A teenager. I called 9-1-1 and took care of him until the ambulance arrived." She sounded scared, which was odd, because Clark very rarely heard Lois truly scared. She must have hit the boy. He found himself looking up at the hospital before them, scanning with his X-Ray vision where he knew the ICU was to see if the boy was there.

Chloe asked if the boy was OK, and it was Martha that answered, "He's inside, the Doctor said it looks like he lost a pretty bad fist fight, and that there's no evidence Lois hit him, thank heavens. We'll have to wait until he wakes up before we will know anything else." She paused and took on her most motherly tone, "Now, it's late and Lois needs to rest. Chloe, could you please take Lois home? We can go pick up her car in the morning."

"Sure thing, Mrs. Kent." Chloe took Lois by the arm and guided her back to the car. Clark turned to watch the two of them leave, to check Lois over himself and make sure she was alright because even if she was an annoying, stuck up, brat, she was a friend.

He felt something tug at his elbow and turned to see his mother giving him a very serious look. "What's up, Mom?"

"Clark," her voice was dropped in a whisper, "Do you happen to have that crystal of Jor-El's on you?"

Clark nodded and pulled the Seal of the House of El out of his jeans pocket. He'd taken to carrying it everywhere in case he ran up against a Zoner. His mother took the crest out of his hand and ran her fingers over it gently. "I was afraid of this…" she said softly, "The boy up there was wearing a black tee-shirt with this insignia on it in red. This exact insignia."

Clark furrowed his brow, "That's my Kryptonian family crest… the only people who've ever seen it are you, me, Chloe, Lionel…" He trailed off and it was Martha that finished the thought.

"And the beings who would have come out of the Phantom Zone." She put her hands on his arms, "Clark, I want you to be careful… Lois says she swears she thought she hit him, but he doesn't show any sign of being hit. If he is from the Phantom Zone we don't know what powers he might have or if he has a vendetta against your father. The last time you went against one of those… those monsters, Raya was killed and it could have just as easily been you. If I lost you…"

He sighed and pulled her into a hug, "I'll be careful, Mom. I'll check in on him when he's unconscious and I won't pick a fight." He smiled the particular smile that had calmed her nerves so much when he was younger. It still worked. "I'll see you in a few at the house and if anything… comes up… I'll call."

Clark kissed her forehead and started into the hospital. According to the nurses' station log, the boy his mom had mentioned was up stairs in a private room. Given how late it was, he was pretty sure they'd tell him that visiting hours were over. However, things like visiting hours don't really matter when you can move faster than anyone can see. Clark felt slightly guilty as he heard papers rustle to the floor and orderlies grumble to go pick them up in his wake.

He had open and shut the door to the boy's room before anyone even realized he was in the building. After listening hard for a moment to make sure no one heard the door, Clark turned to look at the boy. His face was pretty battered, but it was half healed, like the beating happened a few days ago. He only had a few cracked ribs and knuckles, and the cartilage on his nose had been reset, but no major broken bones. The monitors read a steady heart beat and he was breathing on his own. Only serious thing Clark could tell was that the boy hadn't regained consciousness.

Clark saw where someone, probably his own mother, had laid the boy's tee-shirt across the back of the visitors chair. There it was, blood red against black, Jor-El's symbol. Clark frowned. The shirt almost looked like a silk-screened band tee. He touched the logo, feeling that it was professionally done, not hand panted on. Other than that, all the boy had been wearing was a pair of blue jeans, a plain leather belt, and leather work boots that looked very much like Clark's own shoes.

"Wh-- Where….Where am I?" Clark turned to look at where the voice had come from. The boy was trying to sit up. "Cassie? Nightwing?"

"You're in Smallville Medical Center," Clark answered, staying where he was, not moving closer to the boy incase he wasn't friendly, "One of my friends found you on the side of the road and brought you here…"

"Smallville? Crap-- Of all the places for me to wind back up at…" He had his hands over his face, like he was feeling if it was still there or not. Suddenly, the machines attached to the kid went haywire. He made a huffy noise and pulled the leads from his chest, "Stupid monitors… Don't they know I have a head ache?"

The boy rubbed his face again and hissed. Clark could see him open his eyes a few times and try to blink through his swollen eyes. "How long have I been here? More importantly, how did I get here… Even more important that that, where is the place that I came from?"

Clark frowned. Was he amnesic, or just playing? "Lois found you a few hours ago on the side of the road between here and Metropolis. The ambulance brought you in and… You don't know where you're from?"

The kid snorted, "I know where I'm from, I just wanted to know if it was still _there_ is all. You know- global world ending crisis? I was in the middle of it when…" The kid had looked up at Clark for the first time. Clark was surprised to see the boy's eyes were the same color as his own. That was, until they went red and let of a burst of.. Heat vision?! "You! God-damned Prime! What, come to try to finish me off again? Cause you know I'll smack you down like the punk you are! You seriously need a hobby if all you can think of to do is hunt me down!"

Clark brushed at his singed shirt and stepped back. The boy, if he even was that, was hovering near the ceiling, fist clenched, glaring at Clark like he was ready to blast him again if he even moved. Clark raised his hands defensively, "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Yeah, well sure as hell did back there with the tower and all that crap!" How was the kid flying? And he also didn't seem to be very worried about the fact that his heat blast hadn't phased Clark more than a burned flannel shirt.

"I don't know about a tower or anything like that… I just want to know where you got the tee-shirt…" Clark began to take a step forward.

It was the wrong thing to do. The boy began to move, so fast that Clark was sure a normal person would have only seen a blur. He thought for a moment that the kid was going to attack him, but instead he went through the window behind Clark, shattering the glass and zooming off into the night. Clark stuck his head out the window and frowned, watching the boy fly off as far as his telescopic vision would let him.

Flying boy with heat vision. This certainly was not good.


	3. Chapter 3

-1Authors Note: OK, this chapter is all about the Teen of Teak! I'm going to give a VERY BREIF explanation here, because some people reading this might not be familiar with current DC Comics storylines. Kon-El is the clone of Superman who operated under the codename Superboy. He was a founding member of Young Justice along with Tim Drake's Robin, Impulse, and Cassie Sandsmark's Wondergirl. When that team disbanded he went along with his friends in joining the Teen Titans.Kon discovered, after joining the Titans, that the other genetic donor during his cloning process (Needed to stabelize Superman's alien DNA and keep the clone from becoming a Bizzaro) was none other than Lex Luthor. That's right, Clex fans: **Superboy is the canon offspring of Clark and Lex**. Kon quit heroing for a while after Luthor turned him into a weapon against the Titans. He retreated to the identity Superman had dumped on him: Conner Kent, cousin to Clark, student at Smallville High. Kon hated it. When the world went into Crisis as a version of young Clark from a parallel universe, called Superboy-Prime, went insane killing what he saw to be unworthy heroes, Kon found himself first unwillingly, then willingly back into hero business.

Kon-El died in battle against the insane Superboy-Prime. Or did he? Well, this fan girl refuses to believe The Metropolis Kid would ever die with the words "Yeah… isn't it cool?"

Multiverse

3: Kon-El

Oh, this wasn't good. This was so not good. Whole books and libraries could be filled on how not good this whole situation was.

First: Kon-El strongly disliked waking up in strange places. Especially strange hospital like places while wired up to monitors.

Second: Kon-El hated that extra-dimensional jerk Superboy-Prime. Hay-Ted. A lot of people say you shouldn't hate people, but a lot of people had never had half their team killed in one day.

Third: Kon-El absolutely _despised_ not knowing where his friends were or if they were ok. The last thing he could remember was being on an ice field in the artic with his girlfriend Cassie, best friend's sort-of-brother Nightwing, and a half dozen magic powered heroes fighting aforementioned Superdork-Prime.

He remembered plowing SuperJerk into Alex Luthor's multiverse machine thingy. He remembered pushing his tactile telekinesis field out with all his might to blow the thing up, himself and Prime included.

He remembered that should, by all rights, be dead.

And yet, he'd woken up in _Smallville Freaking Medical_ with Prime standing over him acting _innocent_ of all things. Kon's face felt like it had been run it through a meat grinder and Prime was acting innocent.

Kon pelted north as fast as he could. He had to get back to the fight… or to at least where the fight was. He had to see what had happened. Then he'd go to San Francisco to find the Titans. Yeah, that was the plan: The North Pole then San Fran.

He repeated the plan like a mantra. He felt weak and sluggish. His fight with Prime had taken so much out of him. Luckily, it didn't feel like his insides were eating themselves like when he'd worn him self out before. Maybe he'd done enough damage to Prime and the Tower that Cassie and Nightwing and Power Girl and the others were able to finish it up. After all, the world was still here and he didn't see any multiple earths crowding the night sky.

The first rays of sunlight were cresting the horizon by the time Kon reached the Artic Circle. He paused a moment when he felt the warmth and flew upwards, into the upper stratosphere. From there he could get a better charge and would have a larger view to scan. Before Prime appeared and everything went to hell in a ribbon adorned hand basket, Kon had been working on perfecting his telescopic vision. Sure, he hadn't been doing the whole hero-gig at the time, but being able to see miles off would come in handy even if you weren't trying to save the world.

He remembered something Robin had tried to teach him eons ago about doing grid searches. He started with as far north west as he could see and began working his way east and south, scanning for... Well anything. What he found was a whole lot of nothing. Some polar bears, some oil drilling rigs, Superman's Fortress of Solitude, some more polar bears, an igloo…

Wait a cotton pickin' minute… Fortress of Solitude?! Kon flew down fast toward the crystalline mass. He wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, he knew that, but he certainly knew the difference between Antartica, where Supes had taken him when he gave him his Kryptonian name and they had that bonding moment, and the Artic: One had penguins and scientific research stations, the other had polar bears and Santa's workshop.

"Superman?! You home? Cl--er-- Kal-El?" Kon floated down through a gap in the crystals in the ceiling. It certainly didn't look like the Fortress in any state Kon had ever seen it. Maybe Superman was growing a new one?

"AI, You there?" No response from the computer system intelligence. Kon floated down to the crystal control panel and stared at it, "Like I know how to work this thing…" It looked like someone had set it on fire. The whole place looked like that, but there was new growth. If Supes _had_ been making a new fortress up here, wouldn't he have told Kon? No, probably not. Clark had always kind of treated Kon like a red-headed step child.

And that thought made Kon wince, especially since… he kind of was. Well he didn't have red hair but genetics gave him a 50 chance on that…

"Ok, Superboy, don't start thinking about that now, you've got a mystery to solve…" He said to himself, out loud. He hadn't seen any thing that looked remotely like the smoldering wreckage of a giant, world creating tower. Instead, all he found was a creepy Kryptonian bit of ruin. That meant phase two of plan: the city by the bay.

The sun was out in full, chasing him west. It felt good on his back, and he could feel his face and chest heal up. He flew higher than he normally would have, so it took him less time to get to California. Once he spotted the Golden Gate he angled downward, descending toward San Francisco Bay.

But something was missing. Something important and T shaped. Titans Tower was gone, vanished, ka-poofed. Kon frowned and swooped down to the island where the tower should have been. It wasn't like it had been destroyed, it was like it had never _existed_.

Not. Fucking. Good.

If the Tower wasn't here, that meant that something was seriously wrong with the universe. Big shiny metal buildings don't just blink out of existence. Maybe it was a victim of the appearing and disappearing multiverse. No, he didn't want to think about that.

He shot up and east, catching the jet stream. He had to find someone, anyone. Preferably Superman. He headed for Metropolis. He had a general idea of where Clark and Lois lived. Somewhere on Sullivan St, near the Planet Building. He couldn't remember the building or apartment number, but he knew it had a good sized balcony and he could recognize it from sight.

But, once he got to Metropolis, he couldn't find it. No apartment. He flew past the Planet building and scanned inside. No Clark desk, no Lois. Even more disturbingly, he flew over Siegel Park to find no statue to Superman.

"Fuck!" He said a little louder than intended. Someone stuck their head out a window to yell at the cursing person and Kon realized for the first time that he was flying around Metropolis in a hospital gown with his ass hanging out. It was a perfectly good ass, mind.; one _could_ call it Super. But embarrassment still hit none the less. What the hell was wrong with the world today?

And where were his pants?

They must have been at the medical center in Smallville. Prime had been holding his tee-shirt, hadn't he? Damn. How stupid was he, to go flying out bare ass naked. No wonder the sun was so warm on his back before. It was a good thing Tim and Bart weren't here, or else Kon would never live it down.

Ok, new plan. Go back to Smallville and see about getting clothes. Check up on the Kent's and see if they have any idea what is going on. See if he can find his Titans communicator and call Cassie and Tim and Bart.

It was a short flight from Metropolis to Smallville, a fact Kon was eternally grateful for, as he was sure he was as red as Superman's external underwear and his stomach was reminding him that he was fifteen kinds of hungry. He added grabbing something to eat at the Kent's to his list of things. He could do that while calling the Titans.

Clothes were first, though. He flew to the Medical Center, but kept his distance. He didn't want or need some doctor fussing over him. His clothes weren't in the room he escaped from. Oh, well. He didn't think they would be anyways. He could just get clean stuff at the farm.

He never thought he would be so glad to see Kent Farm. He'd spent the whole day flying, and he wasn't in top shape to begin with. It was almost dinner time, Uncle John was probably just coming in off the tractor, Aunt Martha probably had a pie going. God… pie sounded great right now.

Kon snuck into his room through the window. He landed softly and slumped over to the old battered dresser. He dug through the drawers and dug out boxers and a clean pair of jeans. Laundry service was certainly one of the perks to living with the Kents. He opened the closet and made a face at all the plaid and flannel that had made it's way into his closet since he'd moved to Kansas. It was unnatural. He found a plain tee-shirt and dressed quickly. The clothes didn't quite fit right. Kon chalked it up to the fact that he never felt comfortable being "Conner Kent".

He'd had his moment of crisis and doubt. He'd done the emo thing over Luthor and stuff, but that was over. He was done pretending to be stuff he wasn't. He had a soul, he knew that now. That soul wasn't a Luthor ('cause, you know, they don't have them) and it wasn't some kid name Conner. He was Kon-El.

He was the God Damned Superboy.

He'd have to sit down with Clark and the Kents… explain to them that he wasn't going to do the high school student thing anymore. He wasn't a normal kid, he'd never be a normal kid, and he had no desire to ever be a normal kid. He had friends, good ones. He knew how to behave in society, he'd learned that stuff before he even came out of his test tube. He could take lessons at the Fortress or something to learn stuff. Maybe Aunt Martha could home school him. But he wasn't going to lie about who he was.

Kon stared at the door a moment, wondering where his Shakira poster was. He heard voices downstairs, Aunt Martha and Lois and Clark and a woman he didn't recognize. Good, he could find out what was going on. His exhaustion and hunger lead to him half stumble down the stairs, but he somehow managed to make it graceful. He hoped. "Hey, what's up? Where's Cassie? Did everyone make it out of the fight? Did Nightwing? Cause it was pretty hairy there and he's pretty bad ass but he doesn't have superpowers…"

He hit the bottom of the stairs and was suddenly in Bizzaro-World. It wasn't Clark… but it wasn't Superboy Prime either… Prime looked more or less Kon's age, but this Clark was older… twenties. Lois and the cute blonde were in their twenties too and… Aunt Martha was young!

"Uhm… Don't think I'm in Kansas anymore…" And the room went dark.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yay for exposition! We have a villain! I'm playing with things here some, Supes purists. I'm taking Smallville from the view that it is a reworking of the Superman mythos, so elements of the mythos, like the villain introduced in this chapter are different. I don't want to say too much, because you'll find out more about our baddie in the next interlude. This chapter is short, but don't worry, the next one isn't

Multiverse

Interlude

It didn't know where it was, but it was no longer where it was before. It didn't know who it was, but it was not whole. It didn't know why it came to be here, but it knew what it wanted.

Strength.

That was all that mattered. It didn't know why, but it knew that much. It had a deep need to be the top of the food chain. That was it's natural place. All other beings were inferior.

But, it felt weak. It must find a shelter. A strong shelter.

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Kyle Jefferies was at the top of the world. Or at least, the highest he'd ever been. In the past he felt as if he lacked direction, but not anymore.

He came from a middle class home from the suburbs of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex: mom, dad, older sister. However, he always felt like it didn't fit. He left when he was 18, moving out on his own. He tried several careers over the past 2 years, but he couldn't settle on anything. Nothing was right unless he was fighting. He was good at it, good enough that he'd made an underground Ultimate Fighting tournament on his first try. An extra $500 cash in his pocket every time he won.

Tonight was the first real night to fight: a street fight rally in Downtown Dallas. He knew today was his lucky day: His fighting name wasn't Reno for nothing. He parked his car in a parking lot not far from the abandoned warehouse the fight would be held at. He hated that he had to go downtown for this, he always got lost in situations like this. Was it one block or two then a left?

As Kyle walked, he heard something crash behind a dumpster. He narrowed his eyes and looked. Something hissed softly. Eyes and a flash of something moved, faster than Kyle could see. It hit him square in the chest, digging into his skin, burrowing. He reached to pull the.. Thing… off, screaming. He fell back and the world around him went black.

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The Phantom stood, dusting off the arms of it's new body. It was not as strong as his old one, but he could fix that. It was a fighting body, that was good enough for now. It could access a few of the body's memories: his host was on it's way to a battle of strength. The Phantom walked, awkwardly at first then with conviction toward the battle. This would be a good chance to test this body's limits and begin his quest.

He could remember why it was important to be the strongest. He must find the strongest being on this planet and defeat it. That was how you survived.

The Phantom arrived at the battle arena. Two warriors were already engaged. He would prove himself stronger than either of them. He started toward the arena when a hand pressed against his chest.

One of the meat-bags that occupied this planet had stopped him. It was speaking in a mouthy language. Using a little of the hosts memories, the phantom deciphered the maggot wanted his name. It called him some other name.

In a harsh voice, the phantom grunted, "Not Reno." It pulled it's lips back in a feral smile, "They call me Doomsday.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This one is long! I'm taking a step or too back, this chapter begins where Chapter 2 left off and joins up with where 3 left off toward the end. Got to explain what Lois did the day she went to get her car!! Feedback is always appreciated!

Multiverse

5: Lois.

Lois didn't say much as Chloe drove her home from the hospital. She was too busy thinking. She _knew_ she had hit something. She was grateful that the cops and doctors didn't think she hit the kid, but she knew deep down differently. It wasn't her fault, either. The kid had darted out in front of her, not the other way around. She was sober and alert, well mostly alert, and she had stopped to render aid. She knew blaming herself wasn't going to do anyone any good.

But even, with that small bit of guilt aside, she wasn't thinking about how she had hit the kid because she was worried or had some sort of complex over it. It was because the doctors said she _didn't_ hit him.

She couldn't sleep all night. How could she have not hit him? No, she knew she did, just somehow the kid wasn't injured by her car. She supposed it might have been like when you hear about drunks getting into car wrecks but not being injured because their bodies were so relaxed by the alcohol that they crumpled like rag dolls instead of tensing up and putting their arms in front of them. Maybe the kid was so worn out by whatever fight he had gotten into that he was punch-drunk?

There was something else, however. The kid looked a lot like Clark. Like a brother, or something. What were the odds that she'd hit someone who looked just like someone she knew? Someone that she knew didn't have a brother that he knew about? Someone that she had met in a cornfield driving late at night in the first place.

At least the kid had on more clothes than Clark had.

Maybe Clark did have a younger brother that he didn't know about. He was adopted, after all, and he didn't know very much about his biological parents except that they were dead. He'd been adopted when he was a toddler, so maybe his bio-parents had another kid, died, put the two of them up for adoption and they got separated. That kind of thing happened all the time.

Lois' imagination got the better of her as she tried to sleep that night, and by the time she woke up in the morning, she'd concocted a whole back story for the kid: that he'd been adopted by some bad family or put into foster care and bumped from family to family. That at some point, he'd been placed with a particularly bad or abusive family. That he'd found he had an older brother living in Kansas and, after a particularly bad beating, decided to run away and find said brother. One could never say Lois' imagination was lacking.

The next morning, she awoke to only a mild headache and her cousin Chloe asleep on the couch.

Chloe kept giving Lois worried looks as they got ready to retrieve Lois' car. "Lois, are you alright? You're being uncharacteristically quiet…"

"Do you think Clark could have a biological little brother out there somewhere?" Lois looked up from tying her shoe.

Chloe had gotten that look on her face when she knew more than she was saying. "Er… well, no." Lois gave her a cutting look to call her bluff, "No, I mean it. He's… uhm… he's found some of his biological parents things and they never mentioned him having any siblings or other family alive."

Lois knew Chloe knew more than that. Chloe and Clark had been friends since elementary school. She had to know more. Lois mentally ticked this conversation into the list she kept of mysteries surrounding the Kents. "Alright… Don't tell me what you know then. Let's just go get a coffee and a danish and go find my car."

Together they headed down into the Talon. After the ordeal the night before, Lois and Chloe had slept in a little, so the morning pre-school rush was already long gone. As they stood at the counter waiting for their coffees, a gust of wintry December wind drew their attention to the coffee shop door.

Lana Lang had just stepped in. Lois frowned slightly. She didn't exactly like Lana for several reasons: first, she was dating Lex Luthor, which meant she either had no taste or was an idiot. Second, she gave off a complete 'drama queen' vibe. So what if Smallville kept some secrets from her; Lois seriously doubted that the secret was that Clark was cheating on Lana or anything like that. Some secrets were worth keeping. If they were married, then yeah, maybe Lois could see getting upset, but they were just dating. Besides, the worst possible secret that Lois could imagine Clark keeping was that he had cheated on a 6th grade algebra exam or he was a closet Enya fan. Lamentable, yes, but forgivable.

Lastly, Lana was constantly dumping on, and in turn worrying and depressing Chloe. From what Lois had seen over the past two and a half years, Lana used Chloe as an unloading zone for all her teenage angst (which she apparently had in spades) but wasn't so keen on reciprocating. Lois might be able to deal with Lana's prima donna nature or her bad choice in current boyfriends, but certainly not Chloe-Abuse.

Lois put on her best 'no, I really _am_ happy to see you' face as Lana approached the counter.

"Lana!" Chloe smiled, "I haven't heard from you in a while.. Not since that whole… mess week before last." It was amazing to Lois how a story about the abduction of a billionaire into an alternate frequency that sounded as if it came strait out of a bad science fiction fanzine could be boiled down to a 'mess'. "How is everything?"

"Oh…Everything's fine…" Lana nodded and smiled like she didn't really mean it, "What are you doing in Smallville? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Chlo' is just helping me out with some car troubles," Lois said before Chloe had a chance to respond.

"Are you sure everything's ok?" Chloe asked again. Lois quirked her mouth some, I Lana blew you off when you asked the first time, Chloe /I

"Yeah… Lex and I have been taking some time to rebuild things between us." Lana actually looked happy there, her hand reaching up to fondle a chain around her neck.

"He knows now, right?" Chloe had lowered her voice.

"Yes, he does. He's happy. We both are." Lana smiled again. Lois fought the urge to gag. How anyone could be happy with that slimy snake Lex Luthor, she had no idea. Lois turned to grab her and Chloe's now ready drinks and caught a glint of something sparkly on the chain around Lana's neck.

A ring. A diamond ring. A diamond ring with a rock the size of Gibraltar. Luthor had proposed? And Lana had accepted? She really I did /I have no sense. Lois threw her cousin a look and saw that Chloe had spotted the ring too. Was Lana deliberately telegraphing the ring's presence or was she just that obvious? Chloe opened her mouth to say something, but Lois interrupted her. If Lana wanted the attention, there was no way in hell Lois was going to give it to her.

"Well, here are our coffee's. We best be on our way, I don't want my car to disappear. Come on, Chloe." Lois juggled the hot drinks expertly and grabbed her cousin's wrist, dragging her toward the door. "It was nice to see you, Lana. We should totally get together and go have pedicures done or something. Soon! Bye!"

Once they were outside, Chloe pulled her arm free and turned angrily on Lois, "That was so unbelievably rude, Lois!"

"Get over it, like she's never blown you off before. Did you see the size of that rock? Either Luthor proposed to her or she's devised a way to grow her own diamonds." Lois got into Chloe's warm car. "She didn't come right out and say it which meant she was fishing for a compliment, and I was not about to give her the satisfaction."

"Lana is my friend, Chloe. Maybe she didn't say anything because she wants to keep it a secret." Chloe turned on the car, still giving Lois cross looks.

"I doubt it. If she wanted it to be a secret she wouldn't have been playing with the ring the whole time we were talking to her. She wanted you to ask her about it so she could feel special and important." Lois sipped her coffee, ignoring the look Chloe was giving her, "Let's just go get my car, ok?"

Chloe took the trip out to the wreck site a little faster than normal. Lois could deal with a huffy Chloe, only because Lois knew she was right, and that Chloe probably knew it too. However, any animosity was forgotten once they got to Lois car.

Lois had still been a while outside of Smallville when the wreck happened, so by the time they reached the car, the cops had already been over the scene, evidence of their investigation still littered the road, but they were long gone. Lois' car was still parked in the same ditch she had left it in. Lois made a beeline for the front end of the vehicle. This was what she'd been wanting to see all night. If she had hit the kid, there would be a dent or a scuff or something.

Not that she felt guilty if she had hit him.

"Chloe…. Please tell me I'm not seeing what I'm seeing…" On the hood of Lois' car, just above the passenger side headlight was a handprint. Lois tentatively set her hand down on the print. It was more than just a handprint, it was an impression. Her hand sunk into the dent. The hand was larger than her own and the impression was about an inch deep.

"Oh my god… How?" Chloe asked. She moved her hand under the hood and popped the latch, lifting the metal up. They could clearly see the hand print from the inside, the metal and fiberglass bent in perfectly outlining it.

"If the kid caused that… I would have shattered every bone in his hand and arm." Lois wasn't panicking. Lois wasn't panicking. Lois wasn't panicking.

"But the doctors said he didn't have any broken bones…" Chloe said, and Lois could see the gears turning in her head. "Look… why don't we head over to the Kent's place… let Mrs Kent know you're doing ok and see if maybe they've heard anything else about the boy."

Lois wasn't an idiot. She knew what Chloe really meant was that she wanted to ask Clark his opinion on the hand print. Chloe was always asking Clark his opinion when the really weird things happened, which was odd, because it was Chloe who had the massive Wall-O-Weird, not Clark. Lois let it slide, though. One mystery at a time.

Lois followed Chloe to the Kent farm. Together they headed inside through the kitchen door, as was their custom, to find a very relieved looking Martha Kent and a somewhat befuddled (His usual expression, Lois though) and serious looking Clark.

"Hello," Chloe began, "Have you heard anything else about the boy?"

Martha and Clark exchanged significant looks before Martha spoke, "He disappeared last night. The duty nurse said she heard a shout and went to check on him, but the window was busted open and the boy was nowhere to be found."

"What, you mean he jumped? Committed suicide?! After all the hassle I went through to save him?" Lois exclaimed, and this time it was Clark and Chloe with the significant looks.

"There wasn't a body… no trace of him…" Clark said.

Lois thought about that for a second, "You don't think that he's one of those meteor freaks, do you? I mean it wouldn't be the first time someone in Smallville has had the ability to vanish or jump off buildings and live. Not to mention the handprint on my car."

"Hand print?" Martha asked.

Chloe nodded, "There's an inch deep dent in the hood of Lois' car in the shape of a hand… Like it was memory foam and not fiberglass."

There was a sudden thump at the foot of the stairs. Lois and the others turned to look at the source of the noise, only to find _the kid_ of all people picking himself up from a stumble. He was dressed in what looked like Clark's clothing, though it was a little big for him.

"Hey, what's up? Where's Cassie? Did everyone make it out of the fight? Did Nightwing? Cause it was pretty hairy there and he's pretty bad-ass but he doesn't have superpowers…" He trailed off as he saw the group. He looked about as confused as Lois felt, and maybe a little more so. What the heck kind of a name was 'Nightwing'?

"Uhm… Don't think I'm in Kansas anymore…" the boy slumped to the ground in a dead faint.

The room was quiet for a second, and it was Lois that broke the tension, "What in the world?" She moved over to the boy, surprised to find a firm hand holding her back. She looked from Clark's hand on her shoulder up to his worried face. "What?"

"He could be dangerous…" Clark said a bit lamely, though in his eyes he looked like he thought it was true.

"Please…" Lois brushed Clark's hand away, "He's unconscious. I'm just going to move him." She walked over and hoisted the boy up. He seemed heavier today then he did last night. Lois supposed it was the lack of adrenaline. "A little help?"

Clark walked over and helped Lois move the kid onto the couch.

"Look… His face is completely healed." Lois said, "He's defiantly not normal. I wonder what he's doing here…" An entirely new mystery, damn it.

"Chloe, Lois… why don't you head outside…" Clark began.

Lois ignored him and gently started smacking the boy's face in an attempt to wake him. "Common, Kid. Snap out of it."

The kid stirred, "Been a long time since anyone's called me Kid…" He opened one blue green eye and looked up at Lois. My, but he was cute…

He suddenly snapped to alertness, pulling away. "Oh no…"

"Hey, calm down there, Kid…" Lois said, putting a hand firmly on the boy's shoulder. "No one is going to hurt you, we just want to know what you're doing here."

He looked wildly around the room for a second, Lois could see his lips moving soundlessly, listing off 'Lois, Clark, Aunt Martha… Minus fifteen…'. Suddenly, Lois hand flew back off the kid, "I gotta get out of here… Time's messed up or something…" He stood faster than Lois thought anyone could, and the movement made her fall gracelessly back onto the ground. Suddenly, he was gone.

"I'll go find him." Clark said, and before Lois could even look back at him, he was out the door in a blue plaid blur.

Lois fish mouthed and turned to look at Chloe and Martha, "What in the blue blazes was that about?!"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: fixed the continuity error. Van-Zee was the Pre-Crisis Kandorian Nightwing after Superman gave up the title and returned to Earth, not Kal's mommy! My bad!

Chapter 6: Clark

Clark caught up to the boy easily He had stopped by the barn and was doubled over, leaning against the door posts. Clark walked up cautiously, not wanting to startle the boy into flying away or blasting Clark again.

"Uhm…Look…" Clark began, the boy turning quickly to look at him. Clark watched as the boy drifted into the air about foot. "I don't want to hurt you or anything… I just want to help you."

The boy scowled and floated backwards into the barn, "I don't think you can help me," he sounded like he was trying very hard not to sound scared.

"I promise you're not in trouble for breaking into my house or out of the hospital," Clark took another couple of steps forward and the boy hadn't tried to make a run for it yet, so far so good. "I just want to find out if you're ok, what your name is, and where you came from so I can help you get home…"

The boy gave a derisive laugh, "Dude, unless you can, I don't know, fly so fast around the world you can speed up time and launch me back into the future, I don't think you can help me." He finally settled down onto the hay strewn barn floor. The boy suddenly smirked and rubbed the back of his head, "Heh… _Back to the Future…_ Know anyone with a Delorean?"

Clark had to step forward quickly to catch the boy as he began to sink further to the ground. "I've got you. Let me take you back inside and you can explain what you mean by 'the future'."

"No." the boy said, pointing behind him vaguely, "I need to recharge… Stay in the sunlight. I was going to sit in the loft. It gets a lot of sun in the afternoons…"

Clark frowned, but the kid started to pull away, so Clark stayed with him, helping him up the stairs to the loft. He sat the boy down on in a sunny spot on the couch. "Better?"

"Yeah… Thanks." the boy said softly, his eyes closing, face turning into the sunlight pouring through the window.

Clark pulled his desk chair around and sat astride it, arms crossed on the hard back, "What's your name?"

"It's Ko-- waaait. I shouldn't tell you." The kid stopped, frowning.

"Why not?" Clark found himself tensing, ready to jump after the kid if he needed to, though, it really didn't look like the younger boy was in any state to make a run for it. He looked absolutely exhausted.

The kid looked across at Clark, slightly panicked, "I could totally mess up the time line! I mean… what if I explain to you who I am and when I finally get back to my time everything was backwards! Sky's black, sun's red, Batman's smiling, dogs and cats living together… bad stuff!" The boy lifted his arms to gesture, but they quickly slumped back to his sides.

"Are you sure you're ok?" The kid really thought he was from the future? Maybe he was still injured or had a concussion or amnesia.

"Yeah, I'm really ok. I'm not crazy, alright. I just need a recharge and I'm hungry. I did a lot of flying today and I was already slagged from the battle and I've already said too much." The kid rubbed his face and looked around the loft, "Man, everything looks the same…" He bounced on the couch some, "Couch is different, though…"

"Different than in the future?" Clark asked, unable to keep the skepticism out of his tone.

"Yeah… I mean…" the kid was chewing on his lower lip and Clark could practically see him choosing his words, "Different from when I live here…"

"In the future." The boy threw Clark a dirty look that was strangely familiar.

"Yes, in the future! What do you want me to do, tell you about everything that's going to happen in the next 15 years? Cause, you know, I totally can, but then there will be a massive time paradox." The way the boy was glaring, Clark was afraid he was about to get another laser blast. However, the boy sighed and rubbed his eyes hard, "Man… I wish Robin was here… He always knows what to do when this kind of crap happens…"

Clark opened his mouth to talk, but the boy cut him off. "Please, don't attempt sarcasm again… You really suck at it and I already have a headache. I can see where you probably think I'm cracked or something…" Clark didn't exactly nod, but the feeling was still there.

The kid sighed and leaned forward on the couch, "Ok. I don't think I would hurt time if I told you stuff you should already know about. Your name is Clark Kent. You were adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent after they found your spaceship in the back forty. Your real name is Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van of the former planet Krypton. You look like you're twenty or something, so you're probably in college. You like astronomy, journalism, and Metallica."

As the kid continued to talk, Clark felt his eyes go wide. How could this kid know _any _of this? About Krypton and Jor-El.. And Clark didn't even know his birth mother's full name! The kid was either a very good liar or he really _was_ from the future.

Quickly piecing things together, Clark came to a realization: "Are… are you my… my son?"

"Wha?" The kid, who had his eyes closed again, opened them with a look of surprise.

"My son… I mean, you have laser vision, you're fast like me, and you do look a lot like me…" Clark felt a strange emotion welling inside of him; a strong feeling akin to hope. In the future, he had a son. For some reason, that thought made Clark feel happier than he ever thought it would.

"Not really…" Clark felt the hope bubble burst like a too full water balloon. "I mean… if you look at it genetically I kind of am. But you didn't raise me or anything like that." The kid didn't sound nearly as apologetic for that fact as he should, Clark though.

"So, you're genetically related to me, but not my…" Clark was trying to sort out the barrage of thoughts racing through his mind, but the kid cut him off.

"It's… It's really, really, _really_ complicated. I can't tell you any more or else it might, I don't know, end my existence or something. Which would be bad." The kid was rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Clark found himself frowning. Assuming this kid really was from the future, then Clark shouldn't press him for more information. After all, stranger things than time traveling kids from the future had happened in Smallville (though, admittedly, not many). However, while the "from-the-future, don't-question-further" line might work with Chloe and Clark's mother, it most certainly wouldn't fly with Lois. "Ok, I believe you." Clark said, which earned a surprised look from the boy.

"There are only a few people who know about Krypton. I know none of them would have told you. So… You would have to be from the future or something to know and.. Well… I understand your not wanting to say more. And I want you to know I will do everything I can to try to get you home, I promise.. But… we have to have something to tell Lois and the other people."

The boy's frown looked so familiar, it was a bit disconcerting. It wasn't like Clark's own frown. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead, a female voice sounded from downstairs. "Clark? Are you in here?"

It was Chloe, "Err… in the loft, Chloe…" Clark looked across at the boy and gestured for him to stay put. Thank god it was Chloe and not Lois. Chloe could help.


	7. Chapter 7

-1A/N: Sorry this took so long to write. It didn't want to come out. It's done now though, Yay! I hope everyone had a happy holiday!

Multiverse

7: Chloe

As Chloe reached the top of the loft stairway, she wasn't surprised to see the boy looking near passed out on the couch. After all, he had escaped from the hospital and managed to get all the way out to Kent Farm, which was not a brief walk by a long shot. She was, however, surprised to see him and Clark wearing near identical looks of worried confusion. Maybe there was something to Lois "separated at birth" theory.

Clark stood immediately and moved over to Chloe. He turned to face the kid and paused a moment, thinking, "Uhm… Stay here. I'm going to explain things to Chloe. Stay. Here."

"As if I could get up…" the boy said in an tone far more acidic than Clark would ever be able to muster.

Chloe let Clark lead her out of earshot of the kid before she let loose the barrage of questions she had written down on the little reporter's notepad in her head. "So, who is he? Is he from the Phantom Zone?"

"Er… I don't know and no." Clark said sheepishly, keeping his tone low. "He says he's from the future and related to me in some way, but he refused to give me any more detail than that. He said he didn't want to mess with time."

Chloe frowned in a reproachful way and raised an eyebrow at Clark. "And you believe him?" Sure, she was always the one to believe the unbelievable, especially in Smallville, but she thought she'd taught Clark a bit more skepticism than that.

"He told me stuff about me that I didn't even know about… about my birth parents. And he knows all about the Kents and how they found me." Clark was shooting cautious looks up to the loft, most likely afraid the kid was going to try to make a run for it again.

Chloe frowned. There were so many ways he could have found that out. He could have known about Clark's Kryptonian parents because they were the ones that put the boy in the Phantom Zone in the first place. He could have been spying on them for weeks. He could have mental powers that allowed him to read their minds. "Clark, just because someone knows some things they shouldn't doesn't mean they're completely altruistic. I mean, you'd never met Raya before and she knew about Jor-El."

This made Clark frown, and Chloe suddenly felt a little bad for picking at what was obviously still a fresh wound. "Raya was a good woman, Chloe…"

"I know… I just mean that the people in the Phantom Zone were put there by Jor-El, of course they are going to know more about you than you do. It's far more likely that he's a Zoner who knows about Krypton from having lived there once and knows about the Kents because he's been spying on you than being from the future." She couldn't keep a slight ring of sarcasm out of that last word.

A voice sounded from the loft, "I can hear you, you know. One of the benefits of super-hearing."

Clark blushed some in embarrassment, but Chloe was above such a petty feeling. Instead, her resolve was set firmly. Way to firmly for facing off against a being of unknown superpowers, but firmly none the less. Since there was no point in holding this conversation in private, she marched back up the stairs to the loft. Clark shuffled up behind her.

"Alright, then." Chloe said, looking down at the boy on the couch, "We're supposed to believe that you're from the future just because you know a few details about Clark? You aren't exactly the first person to make trouble for us who knew Clark's Kryptonian name."

"I know more than just his name," the boy looked annoyed, "But I can't tell you without screwing with the future. My future. And I kind of like my time how it is and would rather not have it changed."

"How very convenient for you." Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. "A perfect, ready made excuse for not telling us who you are. You don't want to mess up 'the future'. Oh no, one wants that." That was probably a little more bitchy than Chloe meant to come off, but having to deal with Lois all morning had shortened her fuse a bit.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" The boy was angry now, glaring hard at Chloe like he was trying to see through her. "I've met all of Clark's old friends from Smallville and he never mentioned a pushy blond named Cleo."

Chloe opened her mouth to retaliate (the nerve of some people!) but she felt Clark's hand firmly on her shoulder. "Chloe has been a friend for years."

"I've met Lana Lang and Pete Ross, but never a 'Chloe', ok? I'm just telling you what I know."

The boy was matching Chloe's glare with expert skill, but Chloe felt her own expression faltering.

The boy knew about Pete. Chloe had kept in email contact with Pete for a while, but had stopped writing after she found out how Pete knew about Clark's powers and didn't trust her enough to tell her. Of course, she'd forgiven him for that a while ago, but with all the chaos of 'dying' and starting college, work at the planet and Dark Tuesday, she'd never resumed writing. As far as she knew, he was still studying politics at KSU. She didn't think Clark had been in contact with him for a long while. The fact the kid knew about Pete made it less likely that he was a Zoner. Unless he had mental telepathy powers, an escaped Phantom Zone convict who'd been spying on Clark wouldn't have been able to find out about Pete.

Maybe the kid was telling the truth. If he was indeed from the future, it i would /i be a bad idea to tell anyone about what the future was like. And he did look an awful lot like Clark… almost like a son. Which would be very trippy, Clark getting a visit from his future child. And if the boy was Clark's kid, it was probably very exasperating to see his father looking not much older than he. Chloe sighed and pursed her lips together for a moment, "Ok… Assuming we do believe you, how did you get here?"

The boy raked his hands through his short hair and sighed, "I don't know. I was fighting this evil version of Clark who was trying to destroy the world and I thought I was a gonner then suddenly, BAM, I'm in a cornfield then getting run over by Lois." He sighed ruefully, "This kind of crap has never had an immediate explanation. Last time I got sucked through time, I ended up in the 31st

Century fighting along side the Legion of Superheroes. Then I got stuck 10 years into my future, which royally sucked and messed up a lot of how I saw the world… that's why I don't want to mess stuff up for you. If you do something different now, I may not exist or the world might end or something. Which would be bad."

Chloe blinked as the boy rambled. Super heroes? The kid was a Superhero? Chloe knew Clark did some really heroic things, but the way the boy was talking, he meant more along the lines of capes and costumes. And people like that didn't really exist, save for Green Arrow, who was more than a little crazy. And didn't wear a cape or a mask.

"Look…" the kid said in a resigned way, "I don't blame you for thinking I'm crazy. Hell, If I was listening to someone from my future telling me the same kind of crap I'd think he was lying too…but you've got to believe me."

Chloe sighed and exchanged a glance with Clark, "Ok, for the time being we'll believe you… but you have to tell us some stuff or we cant help you. We have to know what to call you and what to tell Lois about you. It wont end time if you tell us your first name, will it?"

"It might." The kid said darkly, but then he sighed, "My name is Kon-El."

"As in Kal-El?" Chloe asked. Same last name, very interesting.

"As in Kon of the house of El, yeah…" the boy said nervously.

"You're from Krypton?" Clark asked.

"No." the boy answered matter of fact-ly, "I was… born… long after Krypton bit the big one. I just prefer my Kryptonian name. It was my first name."

"Well, we can't tell Lois your name is 'Kon-El'." Chloe said, "It's not exactly a normal name."

Kon-El sighed, "My English name is Conner, but I am refusing now to go by it."

"Why?" Clark asked. He was full of questions again. Maybe Chloe had trained a good reporter after all.

"I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to be 'Conner' any more. Conner was a frustrated little emo kid who had no friends. He wasn't me." Kon's look was resolute.

"Ok, then." Chloe said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Kon-El it is. Now we just need a background for you. And we better hurry it up, Oliver wont keep Lois occupied for long."

Clark sat against the desk and looked in the direction of the house. Chloe knew he was confirming her suspicion, "We have a few minutes. Where did you live before, Kon-E?"

Kon-El gave Clark a bemused look, "Just Kon, for short. Saying the whole thing would be like me calling you Clarkkent." He smiled slightly. "I lived here. Before that I lived in Metropolis and before that on the big island in Hawaii, outside Honolulu."

"Really?: Chloe asked, the gears in her head turning. "Kon-El does sound a little Hawaiian. Lois really knows the islands, though. The General had them living there for a year when she was younger."

"I lived there for two years. I've flown all over those islands. They're my favorite place in the world." Kon said in a way that made Chloe know he meant it.

"Ok, then," Chloe sad. "Now, Lois already has this scheme in her head that the two of you are brothers who were separated. Since, you know, you two defiantly look alike." Chloe smiled as Kon rubbed his face in the same way she always did when people told her she looked like her Aunt. Defiantly Clark's Kid.

"Sure," Kon said, rubbing his chin. "I can say that I found out I had a brother and went looking for him." Kon frowned a moment, "But I have no records. If Lois is anything now like she is in my time, she'll run a background check and try to dig up everything there is on me."

"Leave that to me." Chloe said, "I can throw her off. She's still not as good as me at finding information and the planet has much better resources then the Inquisitor."

Kon snorted, "Lois Lane works for the Inquisitor!! HA! Man, I'm never going to let her live that down when I get back." He paused, "If I get back…" He said quietly, turning to look out the loft window into the setting sun.

"We'll do all we can to help you, Kon" Clark said in that sure, reaffirming tone he managed from time to time. The one that made you feel everything in the world was going to be A-OK.

Kon gave him a strange look. Chloe thought he must have recognized the tone, but then he got a far away look "Lois and Aunt Martha re coming."

"How do you know?" Chloe asked.

You ok to stand?" Clark asked, stepping over to the couch

"Yeah, I'm good. I need a day or so in the sun before I'm back to full power, but I'm good for now." Kon pushed himself off the couch and swayed a moment before gaining his equilibrium.

As if on cue, Lois came marching p the loft stair, followed by an apologetic Martha Kent.

"There you guys are. Oliver wouldn't stop asking if I was alright." Chloe wondered if Lois had ever heard of patience.

Martha was much more gentle in her tone. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, mom. We got things sorted out. Mom, Lois this is Kon-El. Kon, this is my mom, Martha Kent, and my friend Lois Lane," Clark made the introductions well, considering he didn't like lying.

Chloe smirked, "Lois is the one who tried to make you road kill." Lois' haughty look withered to Chloe's satisfaction.

Kon played his part perfectly. Chloe thought he was much smoother than Clark would be in the same situation, "I'm sorry about before. I needed clothes and I think I was still a little concussed" He smile charmingly and shook hands with Mrs. Kent and Lois.

"What kind of name is Conel?" Lois asked.

Without missing a beat, Kon responded, "Kon-El. It's Hawaiian. My parents were hippies. My adopted parents, I mean. When they died, I decided to leave the islands and try to find my brother."

Chloe saw Martha exchanging looks with Clark. They would need to explain things to her as soon as possible

"So, Lark is your brother?" Lois asked shrewdly

"I believe so." kin said, lying very convincingly.

A sound rather like an engine stalling cut Lois off. Kon grinned sheepishly and so much like Clark it almost hurt. He rubbed his stomach, "Sorry… I haven't eaten in… well in a while."

"Oh my! " Martha said, stepping forward, all confusion replaced by her need to mother thins. It was one of Chloe's favorite things about Martha Kent. "why don't we all go into the house. I have a meat loaf ready and Kon can tell us more about himself."

"Meat loaf sounds great, Mrs. Kent." Kon said, only stumbling some as he was ushered down the loft stairs by Mrs. Kent. Chloe wanted to hang back with Clark and ask him what he ought about what just happened, but Lois was making that impossible.

As they walked back, Chloe thought over the conversation in the loft. Kon seemed genuine. Very much so. And very friendly, too, once the got past everyone's fears and apprehensions. If he was from the Phantom Zone, Chloe had a hard time imagining what he would have been imprisoned for.

That meant he must be telling the truth. He was from the future. Clark's son from the future. That meant Clark must eventually get married or at least have a kid out of wedlock. Good for him, Chloe thought. Sure, she still loved him and all, but she was to the point in crushing that as long as he Clark was happy with someone, she was ok.

But something was eating at her conscious as she walked into the house. Kon didn't recognize her. That meant she wasn't in the future. I What is going to happen to me? /I 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: It's sort. Thank you so much for feedback on the last chapter! They will realize Kon is not from the future very soon, but first, we need to visit our story's villain!

Multiverse

8: Interlude

The creature known as Doomsday was growing very tired of the planet he'd found himself on. He had made his way from the land known as "Texas" up through "Okla-Homa" and into the southern most part of "Kansas". He, frankly, could not tell the difference between the three. Did the entire planet look this way?

Needless to say, he was not impressed.

The people of the land were weak, fleshy things. They had no natural armor and no sense to grow any as he had done. They snapped like twigs in the hands of his enhanced human host body, and he was certain he could mash them into jelly were he in his true body.

As weak as it was, the human host body had it's advantages. It was strong, as far as humans went, and he'd been able to make several adjustments. He was able to transfer the abilities of his original body into the human, and used them to grow a proper bone-armor plating. The longer he stayed in the body, the more like his old body it became.

He'd defeated many human opponents. The humans apparently found sport in watching other humans battle, a concept Doomsday was not unfamiliar with. He was, however, puzzled by their reluctance to kill the loser. He ignored their odd custom and killed when he felt like it. Which was often.

This had caused many of the human's law enforcers to come after him, but they were no match for Doomsday. He'd stood up to a Kryptonian fleet. These humans and their guns were a mere annoyance. Their bullets couldn't penetrate his skin.

Still, the alien menace was growing bored of destroying human warriors; none of them were truly worthy. He wanted, yearned for, _craved_ an opponent that could give him a true challenge. Then he could defeat an opponent and feel he'd accomplished something for a change.

One of the slight draw backs of his human form was that it still required food. This need had lessened, the longer his own genetics took hold of the human's, but at least one meal a day was still a necessity. Today, however, Doomsday did not feel that this was a chore.

Doomsday noted a bit of newspaper clipping in the roadside food stand that he had killed the owners of to eat the grilled cow and processed flour dough inside. The story detailed the exploits of a warrior in a place known as Metropolis. This warrior used weapons to fight, but was purportedly a skilled hand to hand combatant. He'd taken down a small army of other warriors single handedly, if the report was true.

Finally, Doomsday had found a worthy opponent. He would find this "Green Arrow" and make him beg for mercy.


End file.
